GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In the revamping of Florida's football program under third-year head coach Billy Napier, perhaps the most uncommon tweak was the creation ofthe GatorMade program headed by senior director Savannah Bailey.
By now, close followers of the program know that GatorMade is the player development arm with an office inside the Heavener Football Training Center. While coaches and players in other parts of the building study film and talk X's and O's, conversations in the GatorMade office tend to drift far outside the lines.
Sure, they talk teamwork and goals and other stuff you might hear in football-centric meeting rooms, but they also discuss service-abroad trips, community involvement, career plans and, in recent weeks, micro internships.
That's because this week, five team members are scattered around the state, serving high-intensity, one-week internships that provide real-world experience in the workplace.
Long snapper Gannon Burt is in Miami working at Dexian, a leading staffing, IT and workforce solutions provider with nearly 12,000 employees and 70 locations worldwide. Defensive back Ethan Wilson is at Dexian's office in Orlando. Quarterback Clay Millen, who hopes to run his own business one day, is learning all aspects of the industry at Stanton Optical in Gainesville. Meanwhile, offensive lineman Mark Pitts and former offensive lineman Riley Simonds, who recently joined the team as a student assistant coach, are at MegaCorp in Jacksonville. MegaCorp is a full-service supply chain company with several offices around the country.
Dr. Stephen Alli – believed to be the first Gators football player to earn a doctoral degree at UF –returned to campus in 2023 as GatorMade's director of professional development after stints at Clemson, the Philadelphia 76ers and Sacramento Republic FC.
Alli played for four seasons from 2009-12, but injuries limited his opportunities on the field. He committed to ensuring he didn't let other opportunities pass him by, a message he and Bailey stress to veterans and newcomers on Florida's roster.
The micro-internship program is one way they boost a player's potential.
"This is a way for them to get that experience and to build their confidence and self-efficacy and put some skills in their toolbox, so when that transition comes – whenever it is – they feel more comfortable and prepared to make that transition successfully,'' Alli said. "We treat it like it's a real job."
Players apply for the micro internships, and once they are selected, they meet with GatorMade staff to develop a game plan. Alli holds training sessions and professional development workshops before the players depart. Some are in group settings, and others are one-on-one based on the individual's objectives.
Alli relied heavily on his academic advisor, Jason Storch, and others in what is now the Hawkins Center. He can only imagine having micro internships or service-abroad/professional development trips such as the one more than a dozen Gators took earlier this month to Japan during his time as a player.
"This didn't exist when I played,'' he said.
Napier has done his part to ensure the success of GatorMade, hiring Bailey from Clemson when he took over the program and devoting a week of awareness for the program during the regular season. The addition of Alli brought in someone who understands players' challenges in expanding their horizons, with so much of their time devoted to the game and their schoolwork.
"I wish we had a program [when I played] that would have been more formalized,'' Alli said. "It would have been easier to get that experience."
When injuries shortened his career, Alli was highly motivated and armed with more time to pursue outside interests. He relishes the opportunity to pass on some of what he learned to the next generation of Gators.
When the players return, he will meet with them to evaluate their experiences and better understand their primary takeaways.
"They go in, and they're treated like employees,'' he said. "We wanted to create a way for guys to get professional exposure and professional experience within the limited time frame they have.
"Most of them won't have a full-time job or any professional experience when they graduate like a lot of students. With the micro internships, they have some experience to back that up. They are able to start developing their resumes, start building their own connections, and also gain some of the intangible and technical skills that are necessary to be successful in the workplace."
While the average Gators fan is more interested in how the team is going to do this season or what Napier might call on third-and-3 against Tennessee, a week in Japan or working a micro internship is likely to have a greater impact on the players involved.
They might still need to understand that, which is why Alli's door is always open.
"There's no blueprint for life,'' he said. "It's a learning experience. We want to make sure they have a good experience with this because they will be doing it a lot in the future."
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